Meal and Rest Periods Law Summaries

Connecticut's meal and rest periods law is located in the General Statutes of Connecticut at Title 31, Chapter 557, Part II. The full text of the law is available at Wages-Hours 7-44,201.

Breastfeeding rights are located in the General Statutes of Connecticut at Title 46A, Chapter 814C, Part II, and a law specifically concerning breastfeeding in the workplace has also been enacted (P.A. 01-182 (H. 5656), L. 2001).

WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO

Meal periods

Employees who work for seven and a half or more consecutive hours must be provided with a meal period of at least 30 consecutive minutes. Meal periods must be given at some time after the first two hours of work and before the last two hours. An employer and employee may enter into a written agreement providing for a different schedule of meal periods (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996).

Exemptions. --The Labor Commissioner may exempt employers from the 30-minute meal break requirement under the following conditions (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996):

(1) compliance would be against public safety;

(2) the duties of a position can only be performed by one employee;

(3) the employer employs less than five employees on a shift at a single place of business --this exemption applies only to the employees on that shift; or

(4) the continuous nature of an employer's operations requires employees to be available to respond to urgent or unusual conditions at all times and such employees are compensated for break and meal periods.

Also, the 30-minute meal break requirement does not apply to any employer who provides a total of 30 or more minutes of paid rest or meal periods to employees within each seven-and-a-half hour work period (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996).

Connecticut's 30-minute meal break provision does not apply to professional employees certified by the State Board of Education and employed by a local or regional board of education of any town or regional school district to work directly with children (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996).

The 30-minute meal break requirement does not impair collective bargaining agreement provisions (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996).

Rest periods

Nursing mothers. --Any employee (defined as any person engaged in service to an employer in the business of the employer) may, at her discretion, express breast milk or breastfeed on site at her workplace during her meal or break period. An employer (defined as a person engaged in business who has one or more employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state) must make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location, in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall, where the employee can express her milk in private. An employer must not discriminate against, discipline or take any adverse employment action against any employee because such employee has elected to exercise her rights as described just above (P.A. 01-182 (H. 5656), L. 2001).

It is a discriminatory practice for a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement to restrict or limit the right of a mother to breastfeed her child (Sec. 46a-64(a)).

WHO TO CONTACT

Contact the Connecticut Department of Labor at 200 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1114. Telephone: Department of Labor (860) 566-4384; Division of Workplace Standards (860) 566-3450.

PENALTIES

Any employer who violates Connecticut's meal break requirements may be subject to a civil penalty of $300 for each violation (Sec. 31-51ii, as amended by P.A. 96-122, L. 1996; and Title 31, Ch. 558, Pt. I, Sec. 31-69a, as amended by P.A. 01-147 (H. 6657), L. 2001).

Nursing mothers. --Any person who restricts or limits the right of a mother to breastfeed her child may be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 or imprisoned not more than 30 days of both (Sec. 46a-64(c)).

This is a summary of Meal and Rest Periods Laws in Connecticut.